Alumni News

Farmers who can leverage all the latest financial tools, are already taking advantage of every federal and state incentive available, and aren’t a bit worried about their bottom line bottoming out need not apply.

The coconut rhinoceros beetle is a major invasive pest that’s hungry for not just coconut palms. The large beetle with its telltale horn also feeds on betelnut, Pandanus palms, banana, pineapple, and sugarcane. On Pacific islands with no natural enemies of this beetle, the damage can be significant. Enter Dan Jenkins of the Dept. of Molecular Biosciences and BioEngineering and his PhD student Mohsen Paryavi. Armed with a drone that looks like something borrowed from a Transformers movie set,

When two fruit flies look very different, it’s logical to conclude they’re from two different species, correct? Au contraire, monsieur. A new study by the Dept. of Plant and Environmental Protection Sciences, using genomic sequence data, shows that what was previously thought to be two different pest fruit fly species in the mango fruit fly complex – are actually one.

The journal Animals has awarded its 2022 Best Paper to Rajesh Jha and his grad students Razib Das, Sophia Oak, and Pravin Mishra, all of the Dept. of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences. Congrats! Their paper, “Probiotics (Direct-fed microbials) in poultry nutrition and their effects on nutrient utilization, growth and laying performance, and gut health: A systematic review,” explores their alternative to the poultry industry’s routine practice of administering in-feed antibiotics to promote growth and manage gut microbiota. A growing understanding of the environmental and human health consequences of antibiotic overuse in livestock production has led to banning or regulating antibiotics as feed additives.

Dust off the putter and squeeze into those plaid pants, because the CTAHR Alumni & Friends Golf Tournament is just two months away! The inaugural fundraiser will be held Friday, October 21, at Pearl Country Club, Oʻahu. CTAHR Alumni & Friends have come together to coordinate this friendly tournament to raise funds to help support student engagement, including upkeep and renovations to the CTAHR Student Lounge.